A recent report by the Government Accountability Office (GAO), the investigative arm of Congress, criticized the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) for allowing unapproved genetically engineered crops to enter the food supply.
The GAO suggested several steps the agencies should take to prevent further contamination, including a recommendation to monitor genetically engineered crops after they are approved for commercial production.

The three agencies ignored the recommendation despite the fact that unapproved genetically engineered crops are known to have contaminated the food supply six times since 2000, not counting an incident in December 2008 in which an experimental variety of cottonseed contaminated animal feed.

“After 20 years of halfhearted effort, the federal government is still unable to protect the food supply from unapproved genetically altered crops,” said Jane Rissler, a senior scientist and deputy director of the Food and Environment Program. “The Obama administration needs to overhaul our agricultural biotechnology rules and adopt the GAO’s recommendations.”